Heavenfall

Shinjo sat on a fallen log, staring off into the forests surrounding the Nezumi city, mind on the scene with the Seidou woman earlier in the morning.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't knock her out. How? Had she really become so weak with the onset of mortality, or had she always been?

He sat on the same log when he approached and took her hand, looking where she was looking rather than on her, for now.

"Yer worry, dear wife?" He asked rather than assumed.

She nodded and sighed, looking down at one hand. "... I couldn't do it."

"Did ye pure want to?" He asked quietly, looking at their laced fingers and embracing her with one arm.

"... I don't know. I was mostly frustrated," she sighed and leaned into him. "It doesn't change that I couldn't."

"I guess... I didn't really think about my limits until now."

"You ken, ah cannae chaynge intae a dragon juist yit. Even though ah think ah shuid be able tae. It's frustrating whin yer heritage does nae yield whit ye think it shouid." He rubbed her shoulder. "And sae ah ken howfur failure taste lik', defeat, inability." He smiled faintly. "Bitter. Bit then, this ragin lets us graw. If ye'r happy wi' everything ye dae 'n' cop thare is na limit tae whit ye kin, howfur kin ye ever learn freish hings aboot yersel'?"

He sought her eyes. "Is it nae whit ah hae aye bin telling ye? Thare is braun in folk beyond yer ken. If ye wur a' powerful, how come wid ye ever need that braun? Lik' mine?" He chuckled. "I hawp ye need mine. Otherwise ah wid be hell o' a shitty guidman."

He smiled, raising his brows, his tribal tattoos shifting. "Part o' how come ah fell in loue wi' ye, apairt fae yer comeliness mynd ye, is that in mah mynd ye hae aye bin that yin goddess that cuid see 'n' ken th' worth o' humankind. Sae thare ye gang, that wis th' worth o' humankind that happened thare. Tae defy a god 'n' staun thair ground."

"For th' sake o' thair beliefs na less. Wid ye ower humble that lassie, destroy her spirit, bend her, shaw her her steid? A dinnae ken fur sure bit if ye blether tae her aboot whit happened, she juist micht follow ye 'n' staun by ye in an oor o' need."

"Do nae let yer pride consume ye, mah loue." Koyama finally finished what might have been the longest speech in his life.

She listened quietly as he spoke, nodding a little. She chuckled a bit at herself. "You make me realize how silly I'm being. I did let my pride get in my way. I was overconfident. I suppose I should speak with her." She smiled at him. "As usual, you help me see things more clearly. It's not a bad thing to find out my limits, and the strengths of others."

He allowed a broader grin, some joy lighting up in his eyes once seeing her recover from gloom. "Ye'r ne'er silly pure, mibbie distracted." He connected their fingertips.

"Or getting tae obsessed wi' this hail trip. Ye'r likelie worried that a' ye'v bin daein' tae save yer brother kin nae be enough."

She nodded, some of the gloom returning. "Yes... I'm worried now that... What if we really can't save him?"

"Then we'll hae tae bide oor bides wi' him bein' unsaved. A'm sure it wull be mingin' bit ah jalouse a' th' former tribesmen kin tak' yin mair end o' th' world as thay ken it in thair bidetimes. Th' mair important query is: wull ye be able tae carry on?"

Shinjo smiled sadly. "Of course I will. I'll be sad, and it will hurt to have to prepare for whatever Jigoku will turn him into, but I will survive and move forward. For the Empire, the Clan, us, and our children."

"Thare's aye something that ends 'n' something that begins. Wi' wha ye'r, mah bonnie dearest, ye wull ne'er be short o' fowk wha wull loue ye, aid ye 'n' be duin tae gang whare ye go." He smiled at her without sadness, even with a bit of provocative, unapologetic cheer, browed raised in a constant dare for her to abandon gloom altogether. "In th' end, ilk o` yer siblings hae thair ain paths tae walk."